A golf club's primary function is to strike a ball as precisely as possible to produce the desired distance and direction. With respect to a tee shot, by using a driver-type golf club to strike a ball, a golfer may be able to effectively minimize the remaining distance to the pin. It is not unusual for a seasoned golfer to drive the ball well over 200 yards. Some professional golfers can drive a ball well over 300 yards. Considering that a hole might be 400 or more yards away, driving the ball of this magnitude may be advantageous. However, to maximize drive distance, golfers may be required to swing the golf club (e.g., the driver) at speeds of well over 100 miles per hour.
At such speeds, upon impacting the ball, tremendous vibrations are triggered throughout the golf club originating at the point of impact at the striking face of the golf club head. Unfortunately, vibrations of such magnitude tend to weaken adhesive bonds between an insert (e.g., a badge, a plate, a medallion, plaque, etc.) and the golf club, thereby resulting in increased likelihood that the insert may become separated from the golf club.
In a very competitive market, a manufacturer producing a golf club having an externally-visible insert which easily falls off will likely cost the manufacturer in future sales and/or injure the reputation of the manufacturer, thereby impacting the sales of other lines of golf clubs produced by the manufacturer, and generally placing the manufacturer in an undesirable position. However, removing the inserts all-together and using paint, etching or other forms of brand indicia may reduce the aesthetic quality of the golf club, causing potential customers to favor other manufacturers which include inserts. For example, casting the golf club head to have the appearance of the insert, but without actually having a separate component for the insert has a significant drawback in that a level of detail available would be drastically reduced, thereby making the product appear cheaper and less desirable to the consumer. Furthermore, such an option would also prevent the ability of including a frame line which provides an additional aesthetic quality. Also, the ability to include external inserts on the golf club provides golf club designers added options to further distinguish the design and aesthetic feel of the golf club from its competitors.
In addition to keeping the insert securely in place on the surface of the golf club, any proposed solution to this problem should take into account other factors such as minimizing an increase in manufacturing complexity, minimizing an increase in manufacturing cost, maintaining performance of the club, maintaining the aesthetic quality of the club and the like.
Against this backdrop, many potential solutions were investigated. For example, adhesive tape with improved bonding qualities were studied and tested. However, even using an adhesive tape with improved bonding properties, the insert still could fall off the golf club head in as few as 100 strikes of the golf ball. While it is possible that certain known adhesives may provide increased durability, the cost of these adhesives may be prohibitive.
Other solutions, such as using a glue, were also problematic for similar reasons. Continued usage of the golf club resulted in decreased adhesion that often times led to the insert falling off the golf club.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method for preventing an insert from being separated from the surface of the golf club.